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State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Granite Advantage Health Care Program New Hampshire Hospital Association March 26, 2019
State of New Hampshire
Department of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Health Care Program
New Hampshire Hospital Association
March 26, 2019
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Health Care Program
Agenda
1. Introduction and Overview
2. Community Engagement Timeline and Exemptions
3. Medically Frail and Exemption Forms
4. Question and Answer Session
5. Community Engagement Requirement
6. Granite Workforce
7. NH EASY – Online Resource
8. Question and Answer Session
9. Presumptive Eligibility
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Health Care Program Overview
Granite Advantage replaced the NHHPP and its Premium Assistance Program (PAP).
Beginning January 1, 2019, Granite Advantage members began receiving health care coverage through one of NH Medicaid’s Care Management Plans: New Hampshire Healthy Families or the Well Sense Health Plan.
Granite Advantage has a 100-hour monthly community engagement requirement.
Granite Advantage does not offer retroactive eligibility. If eligible, a Granite Advantage member’s coverage begins the day the application is received by DHHS.
New requirements for the medically frail if they want to be excluded from Community Engagement.
Standard Medicaid and Granite Advantage offer the same benefits for all members.
Senate Bill 313 was signed by the Governor in June 2018, creating the Granite Advantage Health Care Program to replace the New Hampshire Health Protection Program (NHHPP)
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Elimination of Retroactive Eligibility
Elimination of retroactive eligibility applies only to individuals who are determined eligible for Medicaid under Granite Advantage.
The elimination of retroactive eligibility does not apply to individuals eligible for standard Medicaid.
Medicaid coverage for Granite Advantage members begins no sooner than the date the application is received by DHHS (assuming all eligibility requirements are met.)
If DHHS receives an application over the weekend, or on a holiday, the application will be dated on the next business day.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Community Engagement Timeline
The Community Engagement Requirement began on March 1, 2019.
All currently enrolled members will have at least 75 calendar days after the start date of March 1, 2019 before they must begin to meet the community engagement requirement.
Tracking of hours always begins on the 1st of the month after the 75th day.
Therefore, the first day of compliance is June 1, 2019 with the reporting of hours or submission of an exemption request or good cause reason due by July 7, 2019.
Reporting of hours or submission of an exemption request or good cause must be done by the first week of each month thereafter for the previous month.
All members who are determined eligible after March 1st will also have at least 75 calendar days beginning with the date of their eligibility determination before they must begin to meet the requirement.
Initial Medicaid eligibility is not contingent upon meeting the community engagement requirement or confirming exemption status.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Community Engagement Exemptions
The Department exempts members with the following conditions/situations based on the information in the member’s eligibility record:
Disabled: Currently receiving certain federal disability income benefits such as SSI, SSDI, Railroad Disability or Veteran Disability or has medical approvals by DHHS for other programs and services offered by DHHS.
Pregnant: Currently pregnant or within 60 days of the end of a pregnancy.
Parent or Caretaker: Parent or caretaker caring for a child under 6.
Parent or Caretaker of a dependent with developmental disabilities: Parent or caretaker caring for a dependent child who currently receives services through the Home and Community Based Services Developmental Disability waiver (HCBS-DD). *
Exempt from Another Work Requirement: Currently exempt in TANF or SNAP.
Employer Sponsored Insurance: Enrolled in the Health Insurance Premium Payment Program.
*If the developmentally disabled dependent isn’t currently receiving HCBS services from DHHS, the beneficiary will be required to submit the exemption form signed by a licensed medical provider certifying the developmental disability.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Exemptions from Community Engagement Requirement
If the DHHS eligibility system automatically determines the person exempt, the exemption remains as long as the person continues to meet the criteria. These exemptions are not based on a one-year period, they are based on what the system knows about the person. Here are a few examples:
Child Under Six – the exemption is valid until the youngest child turns age 6 or is no longer in the home.
Disabled due to receipt of SSI, SSDI etc. – as long as the person has the income in the system, he will continue to be exempt as disabled based on receiving the income type. If the person never loses the benefit -e.g. SSI- they will remain exempt and eventually age out of Granite Advantage at age 65.
SNAP Exempt – as long as the person remains open for SNAP and is ‘exempt’ under the SNAP program, the person is exempt. If SNAP closes then the person will lose this exemption.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Exemption Ends — Notification to Member
When an exemption ends, the system evaluates if the Granite Advantage member meets the criteria for a different exemption; if so s/he will receive a new status letter with the new exemption reason.
If the member does not meet any of the criteria for the system to auto-exempt, the individual will become mandatory and receive a Mandatory Status Letter indicating when s/he needs to participate. The letter explains other exemptions and how to request an Exemption Form.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Community Engagement Forms
The following exempt conditions require a form signed by a licensed medical professional and submitted to DHHS: Medically Frail: Have a physical, mental or emotional condition that makes it hard to
do daily activities as certified by a licensed medical professional. Forms: Certification of Medical Frailty and Authorization to Release Health Information
Disabled: Have a disability as defined by the American with Disability Act, Section 504 or 1557 who are unable to comply with the requirements due to disability-related reasons. Form: Exemption Request Form
Temporary Illness: Are sick or incapacitated, getting treatment in the hospital, including intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) or residential substance use disorder treatment. Form: Exemption Request Form
Parent or Caretaker: Parent or caretaker of a dependent living in a household that require care as certified by a licensed medical professional, including caring for an individual with any of the above conditions or a dependent child of with a disability.Form: Exemption Request Form
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Medical Frailty Forms
Medically Frailty Request FormCompleted by Licensed Medical Providers
Authorization to Release Health InformationCompleted by Member
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Medical Frailty Exemption
Medical Frailty is defined as, “individuals with disabling mental disorders (including adults with serious mental illness), individuals with chronic substance use disorders, individuals with serious and complex medical conditions, as well as individuals with a physical, intellectual or developmental disability that significantly impairs their ability to perform one or more activities of daily living.”
Under Granite Advantage, individuals claiming a medical frailty designation must have a licensed medical provider certify their medical frailty status.
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Licensed Medical Providers qualified to certify medical frailty and other medical, physical and mental health conditions on the medical frailty, exemption and good cause forms include: physicians, advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), licensed behavioral health professionals, physician assistants, licensed drug and alcohol counselors (LDAC), board-certified psychologists, or RN case managers.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Exemption Form and Instructions
Exemption Request Form Instructions for Completing Exemption Request Form
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Exemption Request Form: Section II
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Requesting Copies of Forms
Members can obtain a Medical Frailty form, the accompanying Release of Information form, and the Exemption Request Form online — through NHEASY, by calling DHHS at 1-844-275-3447, or in person by visiting their local district office.
The system-generated forms have a ‘bar code’ in the upper right corner to enable the system to OCR recognize and process automatically. The individual’s name and MID are printed on the system generated form.
The stock form requires someone to enter the information into the boxes and is manually processed when received by DHHS.
Both forms can be completed now for an effective date of June 1, 2019.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Community Engagement — Qualifying Activities
Qualifying community engagement activities include:
Subsidized or Unsubsidized Employment
Vocational education or training and job skills training
Education (accredited community college, college, or university; education directly related to employment; secondary school or course of study for high school equivalency diploma)
Job search activities and job readiness assistance
Volunteer community and public service
Serving as a caregiver for non-dependent relative or other person with a disabling health, mental health or developmental condition
Substance Use Disorder treatment
Subject to another work requirement (e.g., SNAP or TANF)
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
No Wrong Door to Submit Hours
There is no “wrong door” for submitting community engagement hours. Clients can easily submit hours online, on the phone, in person and by mail or fax:
Online: https://nheasy.nh.gov
Phone: 1-844-275-3447 (1-844-ASK-DHHS)
Mail: Centralized Scanning UnitNH Department of Health and Human Services PO Box 3778Concord, NH 03302-3778
In-person: Visit any of the 11 DHHS District Offices
Fax: (603) 271-5623
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Suspension, Termination and Appeals
Suspension of Coverage and CureCommunity Engagement hours not met in two consecutive months leads to suspension of coverage after required notice. Hours not met can be cured in subsequent months. Re-application is not required as long as the member is not in their Redetermination period.
Termination of Coverage Terminations happen only at an annual redetermination when a cure of a suspension has not happened by the redetermination date, after required notice to the member.
Appeals ProcessMembers will be able to appeal the community engagement requirements just as they have for other Medicaid eligibility determinations. The process will be the same regardless of the reason for appeal. Each notice contains information about member’s rights to appeal and how to request an appeal.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Workforce Pilot Work Program
Granite Workforce is a pilot program available to assist eligible Granite Advantage members reduce barriers to employment. The program is currently scheduled to run from January 1 through June 30, 2019.
To be eligible for Granite Workforce, a member must be either:
A parent age 19-64 responsible for a child under the age of 18 , or
A childless adult age 19-24.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Workforce Services
Granite Workforce is administered by the New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES). NHES will provide assessments and case management services. Case management services include:
Subsidized employment placement
Direct job placement
On-the-job training programs
Job search and job readiness assistance
Vocational assessment and long-term career planning
Referral services to education/training/apprenticeship programs, and
Referral to community services for those who are not work ready
Individuals interested in participating in Granite Workforce and employers interested in hiring participants can contact NH Employment Security (NHES) at [email protected] or 833-658-4760.
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
https://nheasy.nh.gov
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Websites for More Information
DHHS Websitehttps://www.dhhs.nh.gov/medicaid/granite/index.htm
NH EASY Videos on programhttps://nheasy.nh.gov/#/granite-advantage/resources/videos
NH EASY Granite Advantage Home Pagehttps://nheasy.nh.gov/#/granite-advantage
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Granite Advantage Health Care Program
Questions & Answers
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State of New HampshireDepartment of Health and Human Services
Presumptive Eligibility
Presumptive Eligibility (PE) did not change under Granite Advantage
PE allows ‘qualified entities’ to temporarily enroll individuals into Medicaid based on limited self-attested information.
Eligibility under PE is temporary, but allows immediate access to coverage for eligible individuals.
PE determinations may only be performed by certified PE workers.
PE period begins on the date a qualified entity makes the PE determination.
PE period ends the earlier of:
The date the eligibility determination for full Medicaid is made, if the application for Medicaid is filed by the last day of the month following the month in which the PE determination is made; or
The last day of the month following the month in which the PE determination is made, if the individual does not file a full application by that date.
